At first glance, these look like vintage board games one might find on ebay, complete with frayed corners and masking tape holding them together. But look a little closer and you'll see that they are the impressive photo realistic paintings of Missouri based artist Tim Liddy.

Using oil paints and enamel Tim recreates nostalgic Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley board games- some of which are no longer made and others that are still family favorites, on copper.

Tim will take commissions as well. The prices for these works vary from $3,000 to $11,000 + depending upon size.

In the past year, several sites (Treehugger, Toxel and Neatorama to name a few) have shown images of the asian art of leaf carving and more recently the Gblog from Gessato via lost at e minor, posted about the leaves again which got me wondering if you could have custom images made (the answer is yes, as you will see later in this post).

The tacky artworks have their kitsch appeal especially when it comes to using them to showcase religious and celebrity imagery.

Custom Carved Leaves
You can actually have custom ones made from a photo or purchase previously carved leaves for about $25.00 from several sites (links at the end of this post).

How Do They Do It?
The Sixty Step Process

above: Huang Taisheng, master leaf carver at work

Creating leaf art is a long and complex process. Leaves are put through a 60 step process such as, manually cutting and removing the outer surface of the leaf while leaving the leafs veins intact which add detail into the subject matter of the carving. Pressing, curing and dying are also just a few of the steps needed to prepare the leaf.

Talented artist using magnifying glass, then skillfully carve their masterpiece by hand. No painting or printing is involved. The most common leaf used in leaf carving is the leaf of a Chinar tree, which is native to India, Pakistan and China. Chinar leaves closely resemblance the leaf of a maple tree:

Where To Buy Them:
Several websites will make custom leaf carvings from your own photo or sell already carved leaves in various Western and Asian themes.

Two Italian flavors, Martini & Rossi and Dolce & Gabbana, collaborated a few months ago to launch MARTINI®Gold, a special edition vermouth with a unique recipe which includes orange, ginger and cubeb pepper, inspired by the fashion duo.

The libation was launched with a Fellini-esque film starring the stunning and sexy Italian actress Monica Bellucci:

Directed by Jonas Åkerlund (shown shooting the movie below), the MARTINI® Gold short film is set in Rome, Italy - a beautiful backdrop for the visually lush story.